Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Seared Striped Bass with Green Curry

Making my own green curry paste did required a shopping trip to get a dozen ingredients that go into it. But my immersion blender did all the hard work, and now that I have a jar or green curry in my fridge, I've been whipping up cool sauces in minutes. Here is my favorite green curry dish from last week. Of course, you can use store bought curry paste, but beware that it might be more spicy, so you might want to start with 2 teaspoons and add more to taste.

Tips: Kaffir lime leaves are not always available, so if you see some at your store, get a bunch and freeze them in a ziplock bag. Defrost for 5 minutes before using. And if you can't find kaffir lime leaves at all, just skip them. I won't tell if you won't tell.

Prep all the curry and garnish ingredients so that you are ready to make the sauce while fish is cooking.

Dry fish fillets well with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides.Set a large non-stick or well seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 1 Tbsp oil and wait for it to get hot. Add fish fillets skin side down and sear without disturbing until browned, 3-4 minutes.

Flip the fish, and place the skillet in the oven. If your skillet is not oven safe, move the fish skin side up to a shallow baking dish before moving to the oven. The total cooking time (searing + baking) should equal 8 minutes per inch of thickness. To test for doneness, bend the fillet with a fork as if to fold it in half. If the fillet breaks, it's done (don't worry -- the skin will keep it together so it will still look good). Since the fish will continue to cook once it's off the heat, it should be almost opaque in the center, but not quite.

While fish is cooking, prepare the curry. Set a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the oil, shallots, garlic, and ginger. Cook stirring constantly just until starting to brown, about 1 minute. Add coriander and curry paste and cook stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.